January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Kyrgyzstan’s Poison Parliament
Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary-style constitution was a democratic bright spot in Central Asia. But the legislature quickly devolved into a corrupt bazaar, dimming its democratic prospects.
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QUE LE PASO A Z GAS
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
The Hard Truths of Brexit
The 2019 election ended years of turmoil over the United Kingdom’s relationship with the EU, but challenges to national unity and parliamentary sovereignty are only beginning to come to a head.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Confronting Authoritarianism
In May 2018, the people of Malaysia transcended distinctions of class, religion, and ethnicity in order to vote for democracy and reform against a long-ruling party riddled with corruption.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: The Threat of Postmodern Totalitarianism
There is a growing sense today that democrats worldwide are in a race against time to prevent cyberspace from becoming an arena for surveillance, control, and manipulation.
July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
Explaining Eastern Europe: Can Poland’s Backsliding Be Stopped?
Viewed until recently as an exemplar of democratic transformation, Poland is increasingly seen as a leading case of democratic backsliding, thanks to a series of illiberal measures pushed through by the Law and Justice party.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: A Challenge for Democracy
As explained in the essays that follow, kleptocracy has become a potent threat to the integrity of democracy around the globe.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
Shadows in the Swiss Paradise
Long a standout example of consensus-based politics, prosperous Switzerland has now become a mixed democracy with a good deal of polarization and uncertain prospects.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Authoritarian Threat: Weaknesses of Autocracy Promotion
While “autocracy promotion” presents a real danger, its influence so far has been limited. Because authoritarian regimes are concerned first with furthering their own interests, their interventions often have contradictory effects, sometimes even inadvertently fostering greater pluralism.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Lessons from Latin America: The Rise of Rentier Populism
Latin America’s much-discussed political “left turn” has taken two very different forms. Why has the region’s commodities boom led some left-turn states to move toward “plebiscitarian superpresidentialism,” while others have resisted this temptation?
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
Mexico’s 2012 Elections: The Return of the PRI
In July voting, the PRI regained control of the presidency that it had held for seven decades prior to the year 2000. Is this a “new” PRI, or will it return to its old authoritarian ways?
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
European Disintegration? The Sources of Extremism
The EU is experiencing a somewhat paradoxical phenomenon: On the one hand, it has been a tremendously successful club, promoting democracy and open societies within its borders and in its neighborhoods. On the other hand, the language of national rivalry and of class struggle is re-entering public discourse, especially within the eurozone.
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
European Disintegration? A Way Forward
The present crisis of the Euro is a near perfect example of how causal complexity, unanticipated consequences, and decisional uncertainty can have a significant and cumulative impact on regional integration. In theory, this should be the crisis that will drive the EU from economic to political integration. In practice, the outcome—at least, so far—has been…
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
Building Democracy While Building Peace
Why are peacebuilding operations rarely able to establish postconflict democracies, and are there other strategies that would yield more successes?
April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
Constitutional Design for Divided Societies
Constitution writers in ethnically or otherwise divided countries should focus on designing a system of power-sharing rules and institutions. Studies by political scientists point to a set of basic recommendations that should form a starting point for constitutional negotiations.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
The Danger Is Real
Analysis that subtly defines away problems is not going to help democracies survive the threats they now face. The fear is warranted.
July 2015, Volume 26, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural address; a speech given by Leon Wieseltier honoring the slain Russian opposition politician and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov; the conclusion of the report “Putin.War”; Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova's letter from prison.
The Life of the Party
Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.
January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1
Two Traditions of Liberalism
A review of The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty: A View from Europe by João Carlos Espada.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009)
A tribute in remembrance of Leszek Kolakowski (1927–2009).
July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from remarks presented by newly elected Chilean president Sebastián Piñera upon signing a set of proposed laws for the strengthening of democracy to be submitted to the Congress.